Chapter 231: What's Worse Than a Wrong Life

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Do you have a plan to kill Yayul Han?"

Geom Mugeuk shook his head at Bi Sayin's question.

"Not yet."

Geom Mugeuk looked at the incredulous Bi Sayin and spoke.

"Don't I need your permission before I can make a concrete plan?"

"Are you saying a plan will just magically appear if I give my permission?"

"It will."

"You truly are a reckless person."

Despite his words, Bi Sayin didn't seem upset. He actually felt relieved now that he had made a decision.

"Just promise me this one thing."

Bi Sayin laid out a condition. Since he had already given his permission, it was more of a request.

"You can kill the Five Thunder Divine Sword or the Blood Calamity Bringer, but you must not touch the Extreme Army. They aren't Yayul Han's personal subordinates. They're the Alliance's finest elites."

This was like asking someone to kill the Demonic Army General of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult but leave the Demonic Army alone. Losing Yayul Han was already a great loss, and this was an effort to minimize the damage.

"I understand."

Geom Mugeuk readily accepted.

Bi Sayin sighed.

"I don't know what I'm doing. If this goes wrong, I could be kicked out of my position as successor immediately, forget being killed by Yayul Han like my second brother."

"If you get kicked out, come to me. I'll take you in."

"I'd rather die than go there."

Bi Sayin's hideous face contorted. Geom Mugeuk could tell he was smiling pleasantly. It was an emotion one could never discern without watching him very carefully.

"Contact me if there's anything I can do to help. I'll be having lunch at that inn for the time being."

"Thank you."

With that, Bi Sayin left first.

Geom Mugeuk remained, gazing up at the night scenery of the Evil Alliance and the sky for a long while before he finally departed.

I returned to the safehouse and immediately gathered Go Wol, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"The Evil Alliance's successor, Bi Sayin, has promised to handle the aftermath. Now, all we have to do is kill Yayul Han."

My words startled everyone.

"How on earth did you change his mind?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, who had asked the question, stared at me with surprised eyes, as did the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and Go Wol. They had thought persuading him would take time, but I had succeeded far too quickly.

"Don't young successors have their own way of understanding each other?"

"You really are…"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, at a loss for words, could only shake his head.

"Bi Sayin agreeing to our request is good news, but there's bad news too. I've learned of another one of Yayul Han's subordinates."

We already knew the Blood Calamity Bringer was Yayul Han's subordinate.

"The newly discovered person is the Five Thunder Divine Sword."

Everyone was shocked at the mention of the Five Thunder Divine Sword.

Even the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader from the Outer Regions remembered him.

"Isn't he the one who once caused a storm of blood in the murim? He was even branded a public enemy of the murim."

"That's right. He's the one."

"I thought he was dead, but he was hiding in Yayul Han's shadow."

The Blood Calamity Bringer was already a difficult opponent, but the Five Thunder Divine Sword possessed skills a level above his.

Just then, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader asked a question that suddenly occurred to him.

"Then can't we just leave them be and kill Yayul Han when he's all alone? They're human too, so they won't always be stuck together."

All eyes turned to me. The three of them were thinking the same thing, but there was a reason we couldn't do that.

"As I said, after Yayul Han dies, Bi Sayin will be the one who killed him."

Go Wol was the first to grasp my meaning.

"You're worried they'll take revenge on Bi Sayin."

I nodded.

"I don't know what kind of relationship they have, whether they'd avenge him or just leave. However, if there's even the slightest chance they decide on revenge, Bi Sayin will surely die."

"Now I clearly understand why you've stepped up to help Second Young Lord Bi Sayin."

He meant that Bi Sayin must have also realized my consideration for him.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader spoke up again.

"I'll help with this matter too."

I hadn't expected him to offer his help.

"Are you serious?"

"I have to help, if only out of shame."

He was ashamed for asking if we couldn't just kill Yayul Han, without considering that Bi Sayin could face retaliation.

However, I knew that was just an excuse. He was stepping forward to help me.

"Aren't they too much for the two of you to handle? Why? Don't you trust my skills?"

"If I can't trust your skills, Cult Leader, who can I trust? It's just that you have a more important job to do."

"What job?"

"Please continue to protect Strategist Go, just as you have been."

My gaze shifted to Go Wol.

"If our side is exposed, even by the slightest chance, Strategist Go could be in danger. At that time, you must protect him, Cult Leader. Because you've been here, I've never once worried about Strategist Go."

"Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, because I have the Smiling Demon."

My gaze turned to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who had been listening quietly. In this tense situation, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon smiled and spoke.

"Just trust me."

"Yes. I'll trust only you, Smiling Demon."

At that moment, I truly felt it.

Smiling Demon, just trust me. No matter the situation, I will never kill you.

This was my response to the kindness he had shown me.

Head Strategist Sama Myeong was in the operation command room.

Here, in a place known to be even safer than the Heavenly Demon Hall, a top-secret operation related to Geom Mugeuk was underway.

Sama Myeong had been on edge ever since Geom Mugeuk left the Cult. If an incident occurred, he had to quickly support Geom Mugeuk and steer the relationship with the Evil Alliance away from all-out war. He had to do all this without the Evil Alliance noticing.

So far, Geom Mugeuk was performing the mission much better than expected.

When he eliminated Jisaeng, then Aecha, and even Yeo Bulgae without revealing his identity, the chief strategist of the All-Knowing Hall had said this.

"If I were Yayul Han's strategist… I would have been completely fooled too."

Sama Myeong couldn't tell him that wasn't true, because even he couldn't be certain.

"Go Wol's abilities are extraordinary. The intelligence network he built in the Central Plains was designed to complement our All-Knowing Hall's, without overlapping."

"He's thinking ahead to when the Second Young Lord becomes the Heavenly Demon."

"He is truly painting a grand picture."

Just as Geom Mugeuk pushed for a new demonic path, he thought that when Go Wol took his seat, the All-Knowing Hall would also become new.

And today, a new report flew in.

The chief strategist entered Sama Myeong's office with a grave expression.

"The Second Young Lord's side has requested information on one person."

"Who is it?"

The chief strategist took a deep breath before reporting, a gesture that showed just how shocked he was.

"It's the Five Thunder Divine Sword."

Sama Myeong shot up from his seat.

"They say Yayul Han has the Five Thunder Divine Sword with him."

They already knew the Blood Calamity Bringer was one of Yayul Han's subordinates, but the Five Thunder Divine Sword was with him too?

"Yayul Han, the Blood Calamity Bringer, and now the Five Thunder Divine Sword. Can two people handle all of them?"

"I believe it will not be easy."

"What is the probability of success for this operation?"

"Before we knew of the Five Thunder Divine Sword's existence, we estimated it at forty percent."

This probability was analyzed by the All-Knowing Hall. Although they didn't know the precise level of Geom Mugeuk's martial arts, the analysis was based on his various accomplishments.

"However, assuming the Five Thunder Divine Sword assists Yayul Han, we expect it to drop to twenty percent. I will report the detailed analysis as soon as it's complete."

"Twenty percent."

The All-Knowing Hall's analysis of operation success rates was almost always accurate. A figure of twenty percent had to be considered a failure.

"If, by some chance, another master besides the Five Thunder Divine Sword appears, it could be less than ten percent."

It was no exaggeration. Sama Myeong was once again reminded that this was no ordinary matter.

"Send all the information we have regarding the Five Thunder Divine Sword."

"Understood."

Sama Myeong asked the chief strategist, who was turning to leave.

"What are your thoughts?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking what you think the success probability is."

"……"

He was the strategist among the subordinates who knew the most about Geom Mugeuk. After hesitating for a long while, he gave an unexpected figure.

"I see it as fifty-fifty."

Sama Myeong was startled.

"Twenty percent and fifty percent, that's too big a difference."

"It's my emotional analysis."

"Are you saying this Hall's analytical power is garbage?"

"No, sir. It's just my gut feeling."

Sama Myeong relentlessly pressed the flustered chief strategist.

"Why fifty percent?"

The chief strategist said.

"Aren't there people in the world who defy analysis? I believe the Second Young Lord is such a person."

Before another barrage of questions could come, the chief strategist quickly bowed and excused himself.

Sama Myeong gathered the report to present to the Heavenly Demon and rose from his seat. Yes, he's right. The Geom Mugeuk I've seen so far is a man who cannot be explained by numbers.

The same went for the Heavenly Demon Geom Woojin, who had approved this mission. Perhaps this trait of defying analysis was the thing the two of them had most in common, Sama Myeong thought as he headed for the Heavenly Demon Hall.

Go Wol wracked his brain to formulate a plan.

This time, I didn't tell him to enjoy the situation. We had to make a proper plan and follow it precisely.

While Go Wol was planning, the rest of us spent our time in our own ways.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon put up white wallpaper in his room and began training by staring at it. I immersed myself in martial arts training in the backyard.

In this fight, I would have to use all my skills. It would not be an easy fight, but I would definitely eliminate Yayul Han. I had something I had to say in his dying ear. I had to let a man shackled by revenge, who had never once lived his own life, live the rest of his days in peace.

Someone spoke from behind me as I trained in the backyard.

"When you're working this hard, how can I possibly slack off?"

I turned to see the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader walking toward me.

"Go Wol nagged me so much I got kicked out. He kept asking what I was doing when the Young Lord was still sweating it out."

"Since you're out here anyway, let's train together. You've been losing weight lately, Cult Leader, and your features are getting much sharper."

"Really?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader looked tempted. I took the opportunity to add another pleasant remark.

"I bet quite a few women chased after you when you were young. Am I wrong?"

"Well, the line of women following me was quite long."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stuck out his chin with a boastful expression. Looking at the thick flesh under his chin, he still had a long way to go.

"You have to reclaim that popularity."

"How is that easy at my age?"

"If you train and make your physical age ten years younger, you'll go back to ten years ago. If you make it twenty years younger, you'll go back twenty years."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader stared at me intently.

"You have a way of making a man's heart flutter with such simple words."

"How can reclaiming one's youth be a simple matter? You must show me! Who knows what the future holds? Perhaps you'll transform into a version of yourself that's twenty years younger, Cult Leader. When I first met you, would we have ever thought we'd be having this conversation here?"

"That's true. You've completely turned my monotonous life upside down."

"So, do you regret it?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader seemed to ponder for a moment, then shook his head.

"If I were a little younger, I might have regretted it, but now I know. What's worse than a wrong life is a life lived with regret."

We usually just joked around, so it had been a while since we had such a serious conversation.

"When I was the Cult Leader, I thought that position was something incredible."

WHOOOOSH.

A sandstorm blew in. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader activated the Spacetime Manipulation Technique, pulling me into a landscape of the Outer Regions. In the distance, the magnificent form of the Heavenly Wind Cult was visible.

"To be honest, at the top of that place, I would think to myself several times a day. I am the king of the Outer Regions. Countless people will envy me. Back then, even the sand I chewed in my mouth was as sweet as candy."

His gaze turned to me.

"Now that I've realized it's all meaningless, I no longer have any regrets."

"That's admirable."

"Admirable? It's not like I'm any better now than I was back then."

"You are better."

"Better? In what way?"

"Because now you have people who see you for who you truly are, Cult Leader."

Our gazes locked in the empty air.

He shook his head and spoke.

"To trade that for this look in your eyes! I'll go down as the biggest fool in murim history."

"You'll go down as the man who made the greatest choice in murim history."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader smiled. I planned to keep telling him that his decision was valuable. What makes things difficult for a person isn't the sacrifice made for a decision. It's when no one acknowledges it. At least in our relationship, I would not let him feel that sense of loss.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader slowly began to walk.

I followed him, walking across the wasteland where the sandstorm blew.

"You've asked me about this before, haven't you?"

There was another reason the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had deliberately activated the Spacetime Manipulation Technique today. He brought up something he had forgotten.

"You asked if it was possible to make time flow differently in the Spacetime Manipulation Technique compared to real time."